Deal bountifully with your servant,
that I may live and keep your word.
Open my eyes, that I may behold
wondrous things out of your law.
I am a sojourner on the earth;
hide not your commandments from me!
My soul is consumed with longing
for your rules at all times.
You rebuke the insolent, accursed ones,
who wander from your commandments.
Take away from me scorn and contempt,
for I have kept your testimonies.
Even though princes sit plotting against me,
your servant will meditate on your statutes.
Your testimonies are my delight;
they are my counselors. -Psalm 119:24

We should see ourselves as God does – His servants. Man’s purpose is to glorify God. All we do should be for this purpose. The minute I start doing something for ME, especially if it is something outside of God’s will for my life, I am a rebellious servant flirting with God’s wrath.

I am to approach God’s Word humbly asking Him to reveal the wonderful meaning of all that is contained therein. Understanding comes only through His Spirit, and it is dangerous to rely on my own intellect, as I am apt to go astray.

Do I, as a sojourner on this earth, have the same kind of hunger and thirst for God’s Word as the psalmist? I must pursue being consumed with longing after God daily.

As a Christian, when I ask God for forgiveness, do I have any works to show as evidence that I really love Him?* Yes, His love and forgiveness are unconditional, and my works of service to Him are not for the purpose of gaining anything, but I must constantly evaluate if I am walking in obedience in order to continue growing in sanctification.

Because God is the ordainer of all my circumstances, I should not worry about what may or may not happen. I should constantly meditate on His Word, which is my only sure foundation and hope.

Can I truly state that I delight in God’s Word and that it is my greatest source of counsel and guidance? Do I sift everything else through it’s grid? Love for God and commitment to His Word can never be too great or too over-done.

*I am not a proponent of the ability to lose one’s salvation. I do not believe that we are the ones who sanctify ourselves. I do not hold to the hope of gaining any favor from God on account of our works. The question is to prompt self-examination, not self-congratulations or self-condemnation.

Does my language esteem God’s Truth? Do I speak words and ideas that honor Him? Am I filled up to overflowing with His Word? Am I a faithful witness of the One Who gave me breath? Only what I am filled with can come out of my mouth.

One of the most common mistakes and one of the costliest, is thinking that success is due to some genius, some magic something or other which we do not possess. Success is generally due to holding on and failure to let go. You decide to learn a language, study music, take a course in reading, train yourself physically. Will it be a success or failure? It depends upon how much pluck and perseverance that word “decide” contains. The decision that nothing will overrule, the grip that nothing can detach will bring success.